Connie Britton
Actress Connie Britton will be a featured speaker at Black Tie Dinner.
Britton, who starred in the TV series Nashville, may be best known to Texans as Tami Taylor, wife of Coach Eric Taylor in the series Friday Night Lights.
Friday Night Lights took place in fictional Dillon, Texas and was filmed in and around Austin. The football field was the former Del Valle High School field directly across the highway from Austin Bergstrom Airport.
“I’m very excited to attend the 35th Black Tie Dinner on Oct. 1, and for an awesome celebration with Dallas and the LGBT community!” Britton told Black Tie representatives.
Look forward to meeting Britton at Black Tie, because she was as accessible and friendly on the set of Friday Night Lights as her on screen persona.
During the run of the show, I played a reporter, usually standing somewhere on the sidelines. I’m sort of easy to spot in any of the football scenes because I’m the only one on the field in a sports coat — because, you know, that’s how us reporters always dress, especially in the heat.
But we spent long nights out of the field filming each of those scenes that were cut down to less than five minutes.
Britton, who was usually in the stands during filming, was always accessible, chatting with the crowd. And while we usually filmed in summer, the season 3 championship game was done on a freezing November weekend in the UT stadium. I wasn’t on the field that game (because state championships were covered by the international press, not the local Dillon press corps). Britton sat for hours freezing in the stands along with the rest of us.
Also announced, comedian Dana Goldberg returns to Black Tie for a third year to host the luxury auction. Goldberg brilliantly increased bids and generated excitement during her previous turns as Black Tie auctioneer.
Previously announced were a performance by Deborah Cox and Kuchling Award winner Steven Pounders, who will not be portrayed on stage by Jennifer Garner.
